1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of services provided by Telecommunication Service Providers, and more specifically to devices, softwares and methods for receiving faxes on behalf of subscribers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The utility of having a facsimile (xe2x80x9cfaxxe2x80x9d) machine is well established. Fax machines use telephone lines to reproduce scanned images on paper. As such, fax machines facilitate communication between parties.
While the utility of faxes is well established, implementing their utility is cumbersome. Traditionally, a separate, standalone fax machine is needed, which works through a telephone line.
Regarding the fax machine, both parties must have a separate, standalone fax machine, which costs money, but only for receiving faxes. Indeed, commercial copying services permit sending faxes for very low cost per page. So, an individual needs to buy a fax machine to receive faxes. The expense may not justified for some individuals who might receive very few, e.g. 5 fax messages in a year.
Regarding the telephone line, an individual may use a home telephone line for both voice telephone calls and fax calls. This presents problems of setting up and of responding to calls. In some instances, an attendant needs to be present to answer an incoming call, and then redirect it to a fax machine if it is a fax call. These problems are sometimes addressed by establishing a second telephone line, and then dedicating it to the use of the fax machine. This costs additional money, and further requires the individual to communicate the telephone number of the second telephone line to those who might want to use it for faxing.
The present invention overcomes these problems and limitations of the prior art.
Generally, the present invention provides devices, softwares and methods for Telecommunication Service Providers (TSPs) to offer a new service to their subscribers, possibly for a small fee. The new service is to receive faxes on behalf of their subscribers over the ordinary telephone line. Optionally, the received fax is then sent to the subscriber in a different way, e.g. as an email attachment to a prearranged email address.
A routing switch made according to the invention is controlled by a TSP. Voice telephone calls of a subscriber with the new service are routed through the routing switch. To establish a telephone connection, the routing switch conferences two voice data paths, one of which leads to the subscriber. The routing switch further monitors the other incoming path, to detect whether a fax incoming tone appears. If it does, the routing switch unconferences the paths, and redirects the subsequent incoming fax signals to a fax receive utility. A fax is generated from the fax signals, for sending to the subscriber in a different way.
The new service offers the advantage that someone need not install a fax machine to receive a fax. Nor do they have to acquire a second incoming telephone line. In fact, to receive a fax, they do not evn have to hang up on an established telephone connection, if one is made over a first line.
The arrangement does not require the subscribers to distribute a different, preassigned telephone number to those who might want to send a fax. With time, people will come to expect that a person""s home telephone line is also their fax line.